Critical Thinking for EFL Students in a World of Choices

2. Critical Thinking for EFL Students in a World of Choices Banjarmasin Department of Education Kitty Purgason, Ph.D. Department of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University, California

3. Summary of presentation • A world of choices • Definitions • Goals • Productive skills • samples • Receptive skills • samples • Q&A

4. A world of choices

5. A world of choices

6. A world of choices

7. Definitions of “critical” • Not pleased. The report was critical of factory conditions. • Serious. He was in critical condition after the accident. • Important. The president’s support is critical to the success of the project. • Giving opinions, making judgments. The judge provided a critical analysis.

8. Why is critical thinking important?

9. Three goals for developing critical thinking Cognitive skills – intellectual traits that support critical thinking Productive skills – how we speak or write Receptive skills – how we read or listen

10. Cognitive skills • intellectual humility (≠ arrogance) • intellectual courage (≠ cowardice) • intellectual empathy (≠ narrow-mindedness) • intellectual integrity (≠ hypocrisy) • intellectual perseverance (≠ laziness) • confidence in reason • fair-mindedness For more:http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/valuable-intellectual-traits.cfm

11. Productive Skills Goal: enable our students to express their (well-researched) opinions confidently and courteously. Context: speaking or writing classes

12. Receptive Skills • Goal: Enable students to process information critically • Four subskills: • assessing the source • recognizing the author’s purpose • understanding tone and persuasive elements • recognizing bias • Context: reading or listening classes

13. Productive Skills • Standards for critical thinking: • Clarity • Accuracy • Precision • Relevance • Depth • Breadth • Logic • Fairness http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/universal-intellectual-standards.cfm

14. Productive Skills • Class activities • Mini-debates • Journal or composition prompts

15. Mini-debate “Bananas are better than mangoes.” Improve this statement. Make it more precise, clear, accurate, deep, broad, fair Bananas have more potassium than mangoes. (422 mg vs 323 mg) Bananas are more nutritious than mangoes. (But mangoes have more Vitamin A & C…) Bananas are easier to eat than mangoes. (demonstrate) Bananas are cheaper than mangoes. (in the US: 20-30 cents each vs 75 to 150 cents)

16. Mini-debate “Bananas are better than mangoes.” A banana will fill you up more than a mango. (Needs to be more precise: what size, how many calories.) Bananas are better for the environment (or the economy) than mangoes. (Needs support; facts about farming, processing, employment ) I like the taste of bananas better than mangoes. (OK, personal opinion about preference)

17. Mini-debate Other examples: “The lottery should be abolished.” “Non-native speakers make the best EFL teachers” “The university entrance exam system is unfair.” • Of interest to students • Strong arguments on all sides. • Within the range of Ss’ language proficiency

18. Mini-debate Variations in procedures: • Make it a team activity • One person, one statement, + supporting research • Team presents to class • Classmates rate team according to critical thinking standards • Ask students to prepare for both sides of an issue  fairness and the ability to see from multiple perspectives.

19. Productive Skills Class activities Mini-debates • Journal or composition prompts

20. Journal or composition prompts Detailed questions help students think with more breadth and depth “What do you wish for your future?” Typically, Ss just write a few disconnected sentences about having a good job or a happy life.

21. Journal or composition prompts “What do you wish for your future?”  What areas in people's lives are within their control? What areas in their lives are they powerless to control? How do decisions made when people are young affect their lives later on? When should you set future goals? What different types of goals do you have for yourself? Which are most important to you? How would you go about attaining them? Which depend on you alone, and which on others? How does your family affect the goals you set? How many of the goals that you set are material goals? How many are spiritual?

22. Journal or composition prompts “Who is your hero?” • Who is one of your heroes? What exactly do you admire about him or her? How did he or she acquire those traits? How do you know this person is as you think? What do those who don't admire this person say? Why do they think so? How do they know? How could you find out which is right? Along with the things you admire, is there something about this person that you don't think you should emulate? What? Why? http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/k12/TRK12-remodelled-lesson-6-9.cfm

23. Receptive Skills • Key questions for critical reading/listening • Is the source trustworthy or not? • What is the author’s purpose? • What is the tone? What persuasive elements are included? • What bias might there be? Also: recognizing logic, reading statistics, understanding fallacies, etc.

24. Receptive Skills • Class activities • Reading – focus on sources • Reading – focus on bias

25. Reading – focus on sources “Flu vaccine” Read these two texts. Which one are you more likely to trust? Why? (1) A website hosted by Scott Thurston, an individual who believes that individual rights are more important than the government. The site also sells vitamin supplements. (2) The website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency of the U.S. federal government.

26. Reading – focus on bias • Choose a topic where there are several legitimate points of view. • Ex: the best way forward after a country has experienced ethnic hostility or civil war. Examples: Germany after the defeat of the Nazis, South Africa after the end of apartheid, Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge, Serbs and Albanians after the Kosovo war. The different points of view include: The best way forward is (1) a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (2) a court to prosecute war crimes (3) simply forgetting the past

27. Reading – focus on bias • Give students several texts that support one of these positions and give questions to help them evaluate it in terms of purpose, tone, and bias. Example • U.N. Press Release, quoting Kofi Annan • BBC news report, quoting Hun Sen • Extract from writings of Desmond Tutu

28. Reading – focus on bias Variations in procedures: • If students are busy, divide them into groups • One group gets one text • Group presents findings to class • Class decides on which position they agree with (or whether they need more information to decide)

29. Reading – focus on bias Variations in procedures: • If students are advanced, ask them to find their own texts, evaluating them in terms of: • What is the goal of the text? How could the goal have influenced what is written? • Who has written the text? How could the person’s background have influenced what they wrote? • What is the tone of the text? What words make it neutral or push it in a certain direction? • For even more questions to approach the text(s) with, see: http://ollie.dcccd.edu/services/studyhelp/studyskills/sub/rdgcri.htm http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/llt/clt/ChalkTalk/Documents/V5Issue1.pdf

30. Questions and Answers

31. Resources • http://www.criticalthinking.org This site is sponsored by The Foundation for Critical Thinking, a non-profit organization devoted to research, books, and conferences related to critical thinking. It has many free articles of value to elementary, secondary, and university level instructors. • http://austhink.com/critical/ This directory of online resources is sponsored by an Australian software company. It’s a place to look for links to resources related to understanding statistics, fallacies, biases, blind spots, critical reading, critical writing, and more.

32. kitty.purgason@biola.edu http://tesolresourcesfromkittyindonesia.pbworks.com